thanksgiving

Thanksgiving with the family!!! This is the cousin dogpile pyramid. We had so much fun at the "kids" table. It is really awesome that we get closer as we get older. We can appreciate all the different life paths and genuinely care about how everyone is doing. Thursday was spent with my dad's side of the family and Friday was spent with my mom's. I saw 4 Christmases (really cute and funny) and went shopping...a lot. I was really irritated with the crowds this year. Actually this was the first year that I felt anxious being at home. I think it is because I was afraid of running into Vance and his gf the whole weekend. This is the first holiday season I will not be spending with Vance and it is really hard. I'm going to talk to my therapist about it tomorrow morning. I had a couple melt downs over the weekend. I felt like I was doing ok and now I feel like I've taken 10 steps back. I did go out with Phil and Nick on Saturday night. We went to Montana's and had so much fun. I really enjoy hanging out with those guys. They are true friends. Oh and it was weird to see so many Glendora people around. I didn't really see anyone I wanted to talk to but I saw a bunch of people I recognized. I think with getting older I am beginning to pull away from things of the past. I did have a really good time with my family members and close friends I got to see. I hope Christmas is a little more cheerful though. I just have to keep on keepin on.

Busy Weekend

So this past weekend was super busy but super productive.  Friday night Lindsey, Morgan, Ashley, and I went to see Twilight.  I LOVED IT!  It was cheesy at times but I like cheesy.  As my mom and Lindsey's mom (Pimpstress P) would say it was schmaltzy.  And amazing :)  Many people have said that they don't think Edward was hot enough (eh-hem Annie) but Linz and I disagree.  We may be biased though because the actor was also in Harry Potter so we loved him already.  Speaking of Harry Potter there was a preview for the movie that is coming out in July.  Right when I realized what movie the preview was for, I gasped quite audibly and Lindsey laughed.  It was fun to hang out with Linz.  It's harder now that we don't live together anymore but it is always a joy to spend time with her.  At one point in the movie someone's cell phone rang and Morgan yelled at the person.  She makes me laugh!  I love my funny and crazy friends.  After the movie I went home early and cleaned and decorated for Christmas.  I went to bed early which is always wonderful to do on a Friday night.  Saturday I woke up naturally early and because my apartment was already clean I caught up on my DVR.  Then I went to play ultimate frisbee with Robyn and some of her friends.  It is a really fun group of people that play every Saturday morning.  I played until I was completely worn out.  Robyn pulled her calf muscle so that was scary but she was hobbling around trying to walk it off so I think she'll be ok.  She is so much tougher than I am.  I would have laid there and cried but she got up and tried to walk and insisted that everyone continue to play.  In the afternoon Ashley (same Ashley as Friday night), Robyn, Amanda (a little girl from Robyn's church), and I went to see the movie High School Musical 3!  I wanted to see the movie so bad and it didn't disappoint.  It was fun to be silly and goofy and swoon over Zac Effron.  He's hot!  After that Robyn and I hung out then met up with some of her guy friends for dinner.  The guys were techy and nerdy and I loved them.  I truly am a nerd at heart.  We went to a game store were people actually play stuff like Dungeons and Dragons at the store!  According to Robyn I was geeking out about science when I discovered one of the guys is getting his master's degree in physics and we talked about Buckypaper (Carbon Nanotube Paper, new technology, my specialty at work, super fun).  I got really excited and asked him as many questions as I could.  Then we went back to one of the guy's houses and played with Nerf guns and then played Donky Kong Jenga.  I lost the game...shocking I know...I'm not good at games that give me anxiety :)  Sunday my mom and pop came to SD to deliver my princess dresser!!!  I LOVE this antique and I have never had enough room to have it since I moved away from home but now I have enough room!  We went to Brian's (a restaurant I've been wanting to try right next to my apartment..really good) for breakfast and then we went to the movies (yes I went 3 times this weekend...I ate a lot of popcorn) and saw the James Bond movie.  It was sooooo good!  We went to visit Robyn at work and brought her a Peet's Chai Tea Latte.  According to my mom, Peet's has the best foam EVER and you have to get extra foam because it's HEAVEN!!!  Pop and I kept teasing her about her enthusiasm for the foam.  I love my mom :)  Then I took my parents to me and Morgan's favorite sushi place, Ichiban, for dinner.  After they left, I went to the Rock Church with Ashley (yes I also saw Ashley 3 times this weekend...she's fun).  It was really interesting and I am definitely going to go back.  I'm looking for a new church to go to that has people my age that I can befriend.  So it was a busy, full, and productive weekend.  Another update:  I am getting a little more serious about writing songs and music.  I've been actively trying to write more.  Robyn has challenged me to write upbeat, positive, cheerful songs.  For some reason sad songs just flow out of me and the happy ones are much harder to write.  Christy says that is because no one who is happy goes and sits in a corner and says "Gee I'm so happy and I don't know why! I'm going to write about it!"  This visual makes me laugh.  She is right.  But Robyn is also right and I need to diversify my song topics.  So I'm working on it :)  One last thing....get excited it's almost THANKSGIVING!!! Where did the year go!!!???

vegas

I went to Las Vegas this weekend for Michelle, Jason, and Phil's birthday. They all have birthdays within a month of each other so they made it a joint thing. It was an interesting weekend being that I invited a guy I've been talking to see if we could get along in person and with my friends AND Vance was there with his new gf. Both situations were pretty uncomfortable and I was anxious almost the whole weekend. Things didn't go to well with the new guy so I felt bad about that. Also, seeing Vance with someone else is still really painful even after all this time. So that's frustrating. Anyways, onto the good stuff. The picture is of us girls on Friday night at the club Rain (note my tan has faded but I'm still WAY darker than everyone else!). We had so much fun dancing that night. We stayed in Palazzo which is a new hotel that's an expansion of the Venician. It was NICE! We got two rooms to split with 11 people and it was very comfortable. There were 3 flat screen TV's in each room! It was crazy. So I flew in Friday night at the same time as Christy flew in from Monterey. We shared a cab to the hotel and met everyone at dinner. We ate at the Grand Lux Cafe but it was really a Cheese Cake Factory with a different name. So I loved it :) Then we went to Rain. I stayed out until 4am which is so late for me! But we had a good time. Saturday, Christy, Phil, and I went to the Mirage to play penny and nickel slots. This was the best time I had the whole weekend. We played a bunch of our favorite games for over 6 hours! It was very entertaining. Phil and I are obsessed with a game called Mermaid's Gold (see picture below).
We played it the last time we were in Vegas together and HAD to play it again. The best thing about the penny slot games is that you can win bonus games. That was our goal. To play all the bonus games. Saturday night we went to dinner at the Queso Fundido place in the Venician. Every time this group of friends goes to Vegas we have to go to this one restaurant that serves an appetizer called Queso Fundido. It's basically melted cheese with ground beef and spices served with tortillas. Everyone loves it so it's a fun little tradition we have. Afterward we went to a lounge called Blush at the Wynn. It was really cool looking inside but it turned out to be lame. The only places to sit were Reserved tables and we didn't want to pay tons of money just to sit down. We only stayed until the girls got free glasses of champagne. Then the group split up a bit so people could go do different things. Christy and I weren't feeling well so we went back to the hotel and watched the end of Sleepless in Seattle. Then we went to bed early. Sunday we packed up, watched some football, walk around the strip, and went to the airport. I was still not feeling well (some kind of sinus cold that made my nose drip and gave me lots of painful sneezes) so I was walking around kind of zombie like. I was happy to leave and be in the comfort of my own home. I was happy to spend some time with my old friends but I was also happy to get back to normal life. It's funny how being so uncomfortable for so long can make you crave the people and places that bring you comfort (i.e. family, friends, roommate, co-workers, apartment...all the everyday regular things that I love). I could have lived without this weekend but I learned a few things:
-I don't really like new guy that much (not a fan of crude humor)
-I cannot hang out with the group if Vance is there (at least for now...it's not worth it)
-I have amazing friends that continue to blow me away with their love and intense loyalty
-I love my everyday life...thank you to all the people who make me feel loved
*Side note - thanks to everyone who let me borrow clothes so I didn't feel the need to buy new stuff!!! :)

tan

I just got a spray tan in the middle of the day today. I'm going to Vegas this weekend and wanted to look not as white . So this was the result. hahahhahahahhahaha They say that it will fade 50% after my first shower. I HOPE SO!!!!!!!!!! My boss took this picture. Everyone at work is cracking up about it. I'll let you know how it turns out after the shower :)

fun weekend

The girls and I went to see Carrie Underwood perform in San Diego on Saturday night!!!! Little Big Town opened and I had forgotten how many amazing songs they sing! Carrie of course was ridiculously awesome. She sang for about 2 hours and her voice was perfect the whole time. I love going to live shows. It always pumps me up and makes me like the artist even more. A couple young girls were sitting behind us and we kept hearing them singing the songs. Chels and I would look at each other like "that was so US when we were little". We of course were singing along too ;) It was a really fun night with people that I love. Brooke and Alex came down from Orange County and Chels came all the way down from Glendora. It was really cool that people traveled that distance for an event I organized. I bought the tickets back in the Spring (the first day tickets went on sale!). Cookie came down a day early and we went out in Mission Beach. We put together the outfit I'm wearing below.
We had a really fun night. I parked my car in a lot and we took a cab home. Unfortunately my car was towed and I had to pay A LOT of money to get it out the next day. Oh well you live you learn. It was a really fun weekend with my girl friends :)

twilight

So Annie and Lindsey finally got me to start reading the popular Twilight series and I'm slightly obsessed. I started reading the first book when I flew to Nashville for work last Monday. I finished that in a couple days and bought the 2nd and 3rd books in Tennessee for my trip home. I finished the 2nd book on Wednesday (in one day). I was so tired but I didn't sleep at all, not even on the 4 and a 1/2 hour plane ride. I just finished the 3rd book yesterday and started the 4th. I also got Morgan to start reading it and she is also obsessed. I love it and hate it when this happens. I love when I find a book that I just can't put down. I get immersed in the story and can't stop reading! I hate it because I am not productive at all because I'm just reading all the time, and because I can't stop reading, I finish the book faster than I want to. I want to know what happens so badly and then when it's over I feel a sense of satisfaction but also loss. The first book has been made into a movie that comes out in 2 weeks. Morgan and I want to make TEAM EDWARD shirts and wear them to the movie. Lindsey is insisting that we see it opening weekend. So if anyone wants to borrow the books or go to the movie with us, let me know! In case you are interested, the author website is http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilightseries.html

halloween weekend

I went to San Francisco for Halloween weekend. I go to SF at least twice a year to visit my study abroad friends Jason, Emily, and Jen. I usually go in the beginning of March (for Jason and Em's bday) and in the beginning of November (for Jen's bday). It was weird to be there without Jen. It was fun but it just wasn't the same. This year we wanted to do a group costume because we think it is way more fun that way. We decided to recreate the Crayola crayon costume idea that originated in England that first summer we met. The first picture is the most recent version. The second picture is the original from July 2005. It rained the entire weekend which was kind of nice because I like the rain but also irritating because we couldn't go outside much. I get cabin fever if I sit around doing nothing for too long. I guess it forced me to relax which I really needed. Saturday night we saw Changeling which was the most disturbing movie ever. I hated it. If you like disturbing movies you would love it though. Sunday we went to the Academy of Sciences which was really fun. Here is a picture of me and Emily with stuffed zebras.
It took Jason about 5 tries to get us centered in the picture with the flash on and no random children running through the bottom :) Afterward we went to high tea at a cute tea shop in Ghirardelli Square. We try to get tea every time we get together. I got to the airport that evening to fly home and found that my 9pm flight was delayed until 1:30am!!! Luckily they let me run to the plane that was leaving at 8pm. I was able to check in, go through security, run to the gate, and exchange my ticket in about 10 minutes. I hate running through airports because it stresses me out but at least I made it and didn't have to wait until the wee hours of the morn to go home. It was a bittersweet weekend. Jen says we will have a makeup Halloween the next time I come up so we can all go out in our crayon costumes together.

rain

Life sucks sometimes. My friend's sister-in-law passed away suddenly yesterday. I picked her up from the airport and dropped her off to be with her family. During the drive we talked about life and death and coping. It is a reminder to be thankful for all the blessings in my life. I may stress and over analyze everything, but really when it comes down to it, I have amazing family and amazing friends. Death happens in life. But while we are here, we should focus on living and loving each other. Another thing that happened yesterday, my roommate's dog is dying. The dog will probably have to be put down today. She got home covered in dog hair and blood with puffy and red eyes. I hate seeing people I care about in pain. I wish I could do anything to make them feel better. But when I can't do anything, I write. So I wrote this "poem":

It’s raining now but I’ll hold your hand through the rain
We’ll both get wet but I’ll try to keep you dry
I want you to know that it’s ok to cry
We can cry together with the rain

starting a blog

so i decided to start a blog. i regularly check a couple of blogs for important people in my life and i think it is a good way to keep everyone updated rather than sending really long "life update" emails...you know what im talking about :)